132: Xinglin

Over at Dai Tong's side, Shen Lian and Chen Mu's scenes finished almost simultaneously.

The two of them were killed off one after another in the plot. After spitting out a mouthful of blood and striking a pose, they heard the shout of "Cut!"

Dai Tong came up with a beaming smile, carrying a hot towel. Just as Shen Lian stood firm, his face was covered by it. Dai Tong was as affectionate as Shen Lian's own father, wiping the prop blood off him. "Thank you, thank you. Wait for my good news; I'll definitely introduce you to good scripts in the future."

Shen Lian struggled to pull down the towel: "Sure, sure, sure."

Chen Mu went to the back to change clothes. Shen Lian had told Chu Yilan the approximate time filming would end in advance, and right on time, Chu Yilan's call came. "No plans for the afternoon, right? Come on, I'll take you for a stroll in the Apricot Forest on the outskirts of the city."

"Is it your property?"

"It belongs to Zhou Yuanlin," Chu Yilan said. "I heard the freshly made apricot blossom cakes there are very delicious."

Shen Lian had a bit of a sweet tooth and often pestered Aunt Fen for desserts and small cakes at home; Chu Yilan had kept all of this in mind.

Shen Lian liked it when Chu Yilan spoke about such mundane life details. Without thinking, he said, "Alright then, I'll come find you."

"Right, bring Chen Mu along," Chu Yilan said. "I heard from Binghe that Kuang Chenghai is also there today."

Their kind of fun gatherings were never purely for pleasure; they always carried a certain amount of mission and utility.

When Chen Mu came out, he immediately saw Shen Lian waiting ahead.

"Teacher Shen."

"Are you free this afternoon?" Shen Lian said. "I'll take you somewhere and introduce you to a few people."

Shen Lian admired Chen Mu, not just for his acting skills, but also for his character. Chen Mu lacked a talent scout, and Shen Lian was willing to lead the way for him.

Chen Mu understood Shen Lian's meaning and didn't refuse: "Okay, Teacher Shen."

Getting into the car, Shen Lian asked Chen Mu with a smile: "You trust me that much? Not worried I'll sell you off?"

In his past life, Shen Lian had been set up like this several times. They claimed to be introducing him to networking resources, but he'd end up with a bunch of old perverts, and he couldn't escape without racking his brains.

Chen Mu shook his head: "You're not that kind of person."

Upon arriving at the underground parking garage of Hengtai, Shen Lian took Chen Mu into Chu Yilan's car.

As soon as he saw Chu Yilan, Chen Mu subconsciously sat up straight.

Chu Yilan wondered, was he really that scary?

Chu Yilan took Shen Lian's hand, and Shen Lian didn't pull away at all. He even lightly rubbed his thumb against the man's knuckles twice. They had too many little gestures of mutual affection; Chen Mu saw it clearly but didn't show the slightest surprise, merely politely averting his gaze.

Ever since the first time he saw Chu Yilan, Chen Mu had guessed their relationship was unusual. Although he didn't know Chu Yilan's specific identity, for a man with such a powerful aura to be exceptionally gentle and restrained toward Shen Lian, the meaning was very clear.

"Regarding that matter before, thank you," Chu Yilan suddenly spoke.

Chen Mu was startled. After a moment of daze, he realized Chu Yilan was talking about him helping Shen Lian get medicine on set the day before yesterday.

"No, it was what I should do," Chen Mu said softly. "Teacher Shen has helped me a lot."

"One thing at a time," Chu Yilan followed up. "When you come to Star Opening, I naturally won't treat you poorly."

These words were practically overbearing. Chen Mu couldn't quite handle it and could only nod cautiously.

Assistant Sun arrived at the suburban Apricot Forest first. There were stretches of pink and white apricot blossoms; when the wind blew, it was like falling snow. The scene was extremely dreamlike and beautiful. Who wouldn't sigh that it was a paradise on earth upon entering? But that couldn't sway Assistant Sun's heart of stone.

What hadn't been finished at the general meeting that day, Assistant Sun was now catching Kuang Chenghai to continue talking about.

Poor CEO Kuang; he was fine when he arrived, but now he couldn't even leave if he wanted to.

Shen Lian was instantly amused when he got out of the car and saw this scene.

Zhou Yuanlin had invited quite a few people, about twenty or thirty in total. Most were related to the upcoming port development business; asking Chu Yilan to come was to have him oversee things.

While Kuang Chenghai was in the entertainment industry and technically this scene had nothing to do with him, Zhou Yuanlin also needed to play matchmaker for others. A certain family's young daughter wanted to play around in the entertainment industry, so they were getting acquainted in advance.

Chen Mu was the one with the least significant identity among everyone, but he didn't belittle himself either. He'd chime in when someone asked him something, and when not, he'd serve tea and water. This person seemed to have studied tea ceremony; in any case, his technique and timing didn't look like those of a novice.

"Your new assistant?" Zhou Yuanlin noticed and asked.

"No," Chu Yilan said. "Shen Lian's friend."

Besides the Apricot Forest and apricot blossom cakes, there was also apricot blossom wine. It just hadn't been brewed for long; it smelled fragrant, but the taste was a bit lacking. However, the atmosphere was there, and everyone was quite supportive.

Chu Yilan led Shen Lian deeper in. A person who usually didn't like taking photos cooperated fully and leaned in after Shen Lian pulled out his phone.

Shen Lian sighed while snapping photos: "With our looks, even making a funny face would look good."

Chu Yilan subconsciously gave a slight smile toward the lens: "Yeah, looks good."

Shen Lian took over a dozen photos with "click click click" sounds. Chu Yilan reminded him from the side, "Send them to me later."

Everyone scattered to appreciate the view. Chen Mu sat in his original spot without moving. Kuang Chenghai was walking and chatting with a young lady from a prestigious family, so he wouldn't disturb them for now.

Assistant Sun sat opposite Chen Mu. The young man was holding his phone and processing documents, but he actually noticed him.

Assistant Sun hadn't researched acting, but he figured that someone Teacher Shen took an interest in shouldn't be bad.

There were two pieces of osmanthus cake left on the plate, which presumably no one else would eat. Chen Mu didn't like wasting food. Just as he picked up a piece, the chair beside him was occupied by someone sitting down like a cannonball hitting the ground.

The commotion wasn't small, and Chen Mu didn't dare move.

The newcomer was dressed in designer brands, but his suit had several wrinkles, and the smell of alcohol on him hadn't fully dissipated. One look and you could tell he'd been out all night. His complexion was sallow, but his expression was arrogant. Who else could it be but Young Master Feng, Feng Yueshan?

Even Assistant Sun admired the frequency of Feng Yueshan's partying; he'd die if he missed a single day.

After sitting down, Feng Yueshan tugged at his tie. His hair was messy, and his eyes were full of impatience, clearly carrying the anger of not having rested well. He scanned the area and gave a light click of his tongue: "Told me to come, told me to come, where are the people?"

"CEO Zhou is chatting about cooperation with CEO Chen and the others," Assistant Sun replied. "The Boss and Teacher Shen went to play. Do you need me to call them?"

Feng Yueshan was a bit afraid of Assistant Sun. If you asked why, it was because his Chinese grades in his student days were often failing, and he was worried Assistant Sun would find out and then mock him until his blood pressure hit 180.

"No need, no need." Feng Yueshan had indeed pulled an all-nighter. He had only napped for two hours in the morning before being summoned by Zhou Yuanlin's relentless phone calls. His mental discomfort was written all over his face. He noticed an apricot blossom cake still sitting on the table nearby and picked it up casually. As a result, he didn't use much force, his fingers slipped, and the apricot blossom cake fell to the ground.

Feng Yueshan's expression became visibly uglier to the naked eye.

Dammit... In the next second, someone handed over a clean apricot blossom cake.

Feng Yueshan subconsciously glanced at the other person's hand, thinking the knuckles were quite long. Following the hand upward, he met Chen Mu's calm and gentle eyes.

Chen Mu asked: "Would you like to eat?"

Feng Yueshan was used to being served. Since he happened to be hungry, he took it and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then his chewing motion suddenly slowed down.

Chen Mu leaned over, picked up the apricot blossom cake that had fallen on the ground, blew the dust off it, and ate it in two bites.

A petal was blown by the wind across Chen Mu's eyes. He tilted his head to avoid it, possessing an indescribable gentleness that merged with this quiet Apricot Forest.